2X2 Swords
by Kirito'sDarkRepulser
Summary: What if Kirito wasn't the only dual-wielder in SAO? Meet Max, aka Ryuken, a player who can also dual-wield and possibly change the future of all 10,000 players. I update at an unimaginably slow pace.
1. Prolouge

**2X2 Swords **by Kirito'sDarkRepulser

**Disclaimer: I don't own SAO. Simple. I don't own SAO. Thanks for reading the disclaimer.**

**PROLOUGE: THE BEGINNING**

Max sighed as stood up from his seat and lied on his bed. He then placed the Nerve Gear on his head and booted it up. The next 2 words he spoke were simple words, but they were words which would change his life. Words which would put him in a survival game which only the strongest will survive. The two words were: "Link Start."

_Floor 1: Starting City_

Max inhaled and then exhaled deeply before finally opening his eyes. He checked his health bar. 400. Good, nothing had changed. He then checked his player name which was right next to his health bar. Ryuken. Dragon Sword. That was the name he had decided upon first entering the game as a beta tester. Now that he thought back to it, the name he had chosen was pretty childish but he would have to live with it.

Next, he opened up the menu bar. Everything looked the same but something was off. After a few moments, it hit him. There wasn't a log-out button. That meant that everyone was trapped inside this game since there wasn't an emergency log-out button. Also, if it had been simply a mistake, the GMs would have noticed by now. They would release it in the next patch, but there wouldn't be one. Max didn't know why but he knew that there was probably a mastermind behind this. Someone who is an expert at programming and would want to do something like this. Someone who created this game. Someone who is probably watching all of us now. Kayaba Akihiko.

He saw someone who was also in the Beta test running outside the city. What was his name again? Kirito? Yeah, Kirito. He probably hasn't noticed the missing log-out button yet. Well, might as well follow him, he's probably going to do some training.

To his surprise, Kirito was help up by someone with… was that PINK hair? No, somewhat more to the red side. No, it was plain pink. Probably a newbie. Well, might as well start training first. He headed to the outskirts of town. Finding a few wild boars, he started activating his sword skills and slaying them. There isn't any time to waste if what he thinks is happening is really happening.

**AN: Don't worry, a lot more will be coming. This is only the tip of the iceberg. This is my first story so please don't criticize too harshly. Tips would be appreciated though. **

**AN #2: I update REALLY slowly so don't expect another chapter within the next 5 days.**

**Until next time**

_**Kirito'sDarkRepulser**_


	2. Chapter 1: Discovery

**2X2 Swords **by Kirito'sDarkRepulser

_**Disclaimer: I don't own SAO. I'm not repeating myself. This is the last time**_

_**Chapter 1: Discovery**_

It has now been 2 days since the briefing Kayaba Akihiko kindly decided to give to all the players. We find our hero in the outskirts of Tolbana on a simple grinding session.

_Floor 1: Outside Torubana_

'I might as well see what I've gotten after that grinding session' thought Max, and a long grinding session that had been. He was now level 3 with 800HP. He started checking his inventory. Same as the beta test. He could equip Anneal Blade+8 in another 2 levels. After all, equipping an enhanced weapon required higher stats. In the beta test, he had gone for 2S2Q1A1H2D: a balanced method of enhancement.

_**A/N: To anyone who doesn't know about SAO enhancements  
**_**S stands for Sharpness:** The sharper a weapon is, the higher piercing, sometimes allowing players to completely ignore another's armour  
**Q stands for Quickness:** Sort of like the agility stat for players but it's for the sword instead. At the same time, if a player is extremely fast and their sword doesn't have enough Quickness, it's durability will decrease dramatically**  
A stands for Accuracy: **Self-explanatory. This stat becomes useless after a while since your accuracy will gradually increase to almost 100%**  
H stands for Heaviness: **The heavier, the more damage a weapon deals but also the more STR required to wield it**  
D stands for Durability: **The more durable a weapon, the longer it lasts. The only slight problem is that it doesn't make the weapon any stronger.

Next, he checked his skills to see if he had gotten any others which weren't from the beta test. They all seemed okay, nothing new. Wait… was that…

_Floor 1: Outside Torubana (on the other side)_

Kirito fought subconsciously, slaying Wild Boar after Wild Boar using the same pattern of attacks. _Slant, Vertical, Horizontal, Uppercut, Rage Spike, Uppercut, Vorpal Slash. _This was a combo which he created himself and seemed like second nature to use after using it to grind so much in the beat test. What was bugging him was something else…

Once he finished off one particular Wild Boar, he held his breath and opened his skill menu again. It was still there. A skill which he had gotten for free from the moment he had awoken this morning.

**Dual-Wielding.**

_Torubana Central Square_

"Wait… is that you Ryuken?" a familiar voice Max had been expecting to hear finally addressed him. An idea suddenly struck him. Kirito was in the beta as well, Kirito was the same level as him. Kirito should have gotten dual-wielding as well if he did.

"Kirito, it's been a while"  
"Yeah, like, a few months"  
"Straight to the point like I remember you used to be. Anyways, how have you been? Still soloing?"  
"Yeah, after all, I play best solo and it's not like you don't. Anyway, did you happen to get the skill Dual-Wielding?"

A pause.

"So it wasn't just me…" Max sighed with relief. So it wasn't a unique skill. That's good.

"So, are you planning to try it?"  
"Well, why not?"  
"Then let's do PvP so that no one can intrude. After all, I'm thinking that Dual-wielding might be exclusive to us 2."  
"I'm gonna get another Anneal Blade first"

Kirito paused.

"ANOTHER Anneal Blade? Isn't the quest one time only?"  
"Well, yes but I think that the lance users, rapier users, two-handed sword users etc. won't plan on keeping it. After all, that quest isn't all that hard if you do it in a party and every member gets one."  
"Actually, that's quite a good idea. I'll go and get one too. But that means we'll need to go back to the Starting City since most players only came here to get Anneal Blade and get back and well, I sorta… well…"  
"You mean that guy you left behind?"

Kirito looked shocked. "How did you…"  
"Well, I saw you tutoring him so I decided not to intrude…"

"It doesn't matter. Anyways, let's go."

_Floor 1: Starting City_

Night had fallen by the time Kirito and Max had gotten to the Starting City. A slightly blue moon illuminated the whole area with its light. Memories of the 'tutorial' Kayaba had kindly decided to give them came back to mind.

"Let's meet here tomorrow, today, we can go to separate inns. After all, in case someone notices us together, they might think that we are a small party looking for more members"  
"Yeah, well, see ya"  
"Wait…" Max hesitated. Something seemed off. As if they had forgotten something. AH!

"We didn't friend each other!"

Kirito hesitated. It would slightly taint his reputation of being a solo player if he did. Then again, anywhere less than 10 friends were still satisfactory for a solo player when pre-boss battle situations are excluded.

"Okay"

_The next day, Central Market_

After 2 hours of searching for people who might actually sell Anneal Blade, Max and Kirito had finally managed to find two spear-users who were about to sell theirs to NPCs and had to listen to them complain that there wasn't an Anneal Spear weapon for another 30 minutes.

After buying the swords at an extremely cheap price (considering the spear-users didn't have the Appraisal Skill or One-handed Sword Skill yet, they didn't know the quality of Anneal Blades), Kirito and Max managed to enhance their second Anneal Blades to the same level as their other ones. (Kirito decided to use 2S2Q3D).

"Now, let's try this new 'Dual-Wielding' Skill out, shall we?"

**A/N: EXTREMELY SORRY I TOOK AGES TO UPDATE THIS! I seem only to be able to update on a weekly basis with long chapters when it's the holidays**

**A/N #2: Thanks for all the support I've been getting (even if it's only a tiny bit), any suggestions are still welcome. Just no harsh criticism please.**

**Until next time**

**Kirito'sDarkRepulser**


	3. Chapter 2: First Encounter

**2X2 Swords **by Kirito'sDarkRepulser

_**A/N: Yes, I know I'm taking FOREVER to update but I don't really get any spare time at all. In the meantime, enjoy the second chapter**_

_**A/N #2:No, they are meeting Asuna yet. They will soon though.**_

_**A/N #3: Whenever I feel like, there will be a stats update so that people know the approximate strength of characters in the story**_

_Stats Update:  
_Kirito: Level 6, 1400HP  
Ryuken: Level 6 1400HP

_**Chapter 2: First Encounter**_

_Floor 1: Entrance to the Dungeon_

The metallic sound of Anneal Blades crashing could be heard from a metre away if anyone bothered to listen. The creatures of the forest had long since fled considering that this was the 3rd hour of Kirito and Ryuken's Dual Blades training.

_Double Circular, Double Vertical (with both hands), Double Slant…_

It was quite obvious that Kirito had the upper hand in this particular duel. The score was 9-9, and this would be the final battle before they took a break. That was until Max suddenly smiled.

'Let's try this one now…" _Starburst Stream!_

_Floor 1: Entrance to Tolbana, After 10 hours of Solid Grinding_

_**A/N: For those who are not familiar with terms like grinding used in games. Grinding is continually gaining experience by doing the same thing repetitively many times. It is generally done in medium-low to medium-high risk conditions to gain experience and, obviously, to level up**_

"You cheated, I would've won that" complained Kirito who had the face of a child who had just been denied candy.  
"I always keep my trump cards until last. That is the only difference."

Kirito pouted. "You just don't want to admit that without Starburst Stream, I'm the better warrior by FAR."  
"It's not like you don't have that skill or anything… you just don't use it"  
"For your benefit"  
"Liar"

Unfortunately for the duo, they hadn't noticed that area around them had just turned red and that a mini-boss was standing in their way.

"Ouch" A typical reaction for crashing into a monster that probably had slightly more than double your defence.

They looked up and instantly smelt the foul stench coming from within the monster's mouth.

_The Wild Boar Lord_.

Instead of getting scared and attempting to run away like normal players would if they encountered a mini boss, Max and Kirito grinned. After all, this was the perfect opportunity to test how good Dual Wielding really was.

If one decided to listen close enough, they would hear two simultaneous whispers of the Dual Blade skills.

"_Starburst Stream"_

_The Wild Boar Lord _seemed to be stunned, as if it didn't expect any sort of Dual Blades skill. Of course, Dual Blades wasn't just any skill so it was to be expected. But…

With surprisingly fast reaction, the _Wild Boar Lord _adapted to the new situation, preparing for another Dual Blade attack. The trouble for it though, was that it didn't have NEARLY enough equipment of any sort to be able to counter 2 Dual Wielders (probably not much can).

Kirito lashed out with _Vorpal Strike _which Max was about to copy when suddenly he felt something new, as if he was losing control over his virtual body. By now, _Wild Boar Lord _had lost 2 of its 4 bars of HP.

Max's blades glowed blue. A dangerous blue. The blue of a skill which should require lv 500 of a skill type to use. An ultimate skill.

"MOVE, KIRITO!" That was the first thought. Whatever this skill does, if it hits Kirito, he would almost definitely die.

Kirito raised his eyebrows and almost instantly understood when he also saw the blades. He used _Flash Step_, a lv15 sprint skill which allows instant movement within 3 metres.

The sky seemed to turn black for a moment. Darkness surrounded the whole area. Max closed his eyes. He raised his swords.

"_THE ECLIPSE"_ His eyes flashed open again. The system dragged his body into an unfamiliar sword skill. A whirlwind of slashes continued relentlessly striking the boss. After 10 seconds, Max had stopped counting the number of attacks in the skill. There were just too many. It seemed like a skill which only ended the moment your enemy died.

Despite the situation, he glanced at Kirito. Kirito's eyes were the size of dinner plates and his jaw had decided to drop to the ground. He then checked the mini-boss's HP. He adopted the same expression.

After another few seconds, which felt a LOT longer than it lasted. A definite concluding motion was made and the skill had finally finished. The reward screen appeared in front of him.

"27…" it was barely a whisper but Max had heard it.  
"What?"  
"27-hit combo skill. What was it called again?"  
"_The Eclipse"_  
"A name worthy of such a long-lasting and dangerous skill"

A long moment passed.

"Hey…" Kirito was slightly startled at the sudden speech.  
"Do you want to create a guild with me?"  
"…What?"  
"Do you want to create a guild with me?"  
"Umm…."  
"You'll be guild leader because I'm not good at management and those kinds of things…"  
"What would we call it?"  
"Um… how about Shadow Swordsmen?"  
"Hm… I don't like the name but I can't think of anything better so I say let's do it."

_A little while later… Torubana_

"There, finally registered as an official guild of 2"  
"Who would've thought that registering a guild in a game would be so official?"

"A 2-man guild? Could it be that you guys are looking for more members? If so, can I please join?" A blonde man who looked in his mid-twenties had appeared behind the duo and looked really excited.  
"Sorry, but we aren't looking for any members…"

The man didn't seem satisfied with the answer.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS? A 2-MAN GUILD NOT RECRUITING NEW MEMBERS? WHAT IN AINCRAD IS THAT LOGIC? WHAT'S MORE, YOU GUYS ARE SO YOUNG YOU COULDN'T BE OLDER THAN 15, YOU NEED AN ADULT'S HELP TO SURVIVE IN THIS GAME"  
"Umm… sir… everyone's staring at us…"

It was the truth. Literally EVERYONE within a 10 metre radius was staring at the duo being scolded by a man who was probably a stranger to the pair. Whispers started between players.

There was both criticism  
"Seriously? A 2-man guild which isn't recruiting? In a death game like this?"  
"What arrogant kids. Carrying around 2 swords each…"

And praise  
"A 2-man guild? Wow… they must be SO strong… probably past level 4 already…"  
"2 swords? So brave… defying the system and not using the set sword skills"  
"Wait… aren't those Anneal Blades? Wow… I thought that quest could only be done once but it looks like they decided to repeat that suicidal quest and made it out alive"

After another few moments, everyone returned to what they were doing before and the blonde man continued interrogating our golden duo.

"C'mon, what level are you guys? I'm level 3 (almost 4) and proud of it. You can't say no now, can you? You guys look level 2 or 3 to me. What level are you guys?"

Max didn't know what suddenly sparked inside him. He wanted to reveal his true level and shut this guy up for the next few hours. It seemed like Kirito had the same idea in mind and had already started speaking.

"I'm level 7, I have 1600 HP"

Max smirked for a brief moment, but Kirito, with his pride as a beta-tester on the line as well as most likely being older that his partner, caught the smirk and instantly glared at his fellow dual-wielder.

"I'm just barely level 8, I have 1750 HP"

The amount of shock the blonde man received was probably close to the same amount Klein received when he learnt that Kirito and Asuna were in a party together.

"HOW IN AINCRAD ARE YOU GUYS LEVEL 7?!"

If the last one caught everyone's attention within a 10 metre radius, this probably caught the attention of everyone in Torubana, if not some of the people in the outskirts as well.

Max and Kirito gritted their teeth. The blonde had done it now. They were most certainly going to reduce his HP to single digits until he had sold all of his gear and was 1 Col away from bankruptcy. That was actually quite a small price to pay considering the amount of shame they would receive for people calling them cheaters.

Surprisingly enough, the blonde man's future was spared when many people started voicing their approval of such high-level children.

*Whistle*  
"Wow, you guys must be hard workers; it explains why you guys keep to yourselves and why you guys have 2 Anneal Blades each"  
"How long do you grind? 10 hours a day? That must be true commitment."  
"It's nice to see such young boys showing such manly qualities"

_The Inn which Kirito and Max are staying in_

"Well, good night, see you tomorrow at the same time?"  
"Yeah"

"WAIT"

A cloaked figure has stopped our favourite duo from finishing off this chapter. She had 3 red whiskers on both cheeks and was breathing pretty heavily.

"Who are you?" asked Kirito

"I'm Argo aka The Rat. I sell information at cheap prices and buy it at high prices. I can give you more information than any information booklet can and will tell you anything as long as you can afford my services."

"What do you want from us?"  
"Well, 2 things. First, I want to make a deal. It's a deal I don't make with most people and you guys should be considered lucky that I have decided to offer you it. I call it the Equal Questions Deal. Second, I want to add you two both to my friends list assuming you guys accept the deal"

"Equal Questions Deal?" our golden pair were confused.

"Have my ways not travelled to your ears yet? Equal Questions Deal is when I ask you a question and you answer to the best of your ability and then we do vice-versa. If you don't have anything you want to ask, then that question is simply wasted and you cannot save it. If you want to know something and I don't need any information from you, you either leave without knowing or you pay the full price for the information."

"Should we?"  
"It seems pretty unfair…"  
"But there are certain advantages to doing so…"  
"I admit that too… so… for now…"  
"We accept"

Argo grinned. Our favourite duo friended Argo.

"Well then, I'll be leaving, have a good night. Please remember I could ask you for information at LITERALLY any time." And she disappeared into the city.

_**A/N: If this chapter looks rather awkward to you, that is because I wrote this in the span of 2 weeks, in which I lost inspiration half-way through.**_

_**A/N #2: The Encounter was supposed to be about Heathcliff but then I decided it was slightly too early to introduce him and made it about a mini-boss instead. I needed to introduce Argo because I have big plans for Argo in the later chapters (related to the Equal Questions Deal)**_

_**A/N #3: Thank you for reading until this point, I must admit, I update REALLY slowly and English isn't exactly a subject I excel at. I can understand if you readers have a LOT of criticism for me **_

_**A/N #4: Last A/N, PLEASE do me a favour, review this story because I have no idea what people think of it (it could be that I didn't allow comments, if that is the case, please someone PM me so that I can learn how to allow comments)**_

**Until next time**

**Kirito'sDarkRepulser**__


	4. Chapter 3: Meeting Asuna

**2X2 Swords **by Kirito'sDarkRepulser

_**A/N: I suddenly have a lot of time and not much inspiration so I haven't been updating. Strange how I always get inspiration when I don't have time…**_

_Stats Update:  
_Kirito: Level 10, 2000HP, 10 STR, 7AGI, 2 DEF,1VIT  
Ryuken: Level 10, 2000HP, 9 STR, 9 AGI, 1 DEF, 1VIT

_**A/N #2: Yes, Kirito caught up to Ryuken (the HP increase per level is decreasing because they're investing more stats into AGI and STR),it has suddenly become a lot harder to level up, and they aren't grinding as much as the first few days.  
A/N #3: In this case, vitality is more like healing than max HP**_

**This **is anything which needs to be emphasised**  
This**is the name of an item or equipment  
_This _is either change of setting or the name of a monster  
_This _is the naming of anything not mentioned above except players.

_**Chapter 3: Meeting Asuna**_

_Floor 1: Horunka, 2 Months Later, Boss Strategy Meeting_

Today was the day. The day in which everyone would finally gather together and make plans on how to conquer the first Floor-Boss. We find our favourite duo sitting in the highest spot, away from any other people, listening to Diabel give out information which they already knew about the first floor boss.

"… now, separate into parties of six. We won't be able to fight the boss with parties smaller than that."

Kirito and Max looked around. It was as if everyone already knew that this was going to happen and had already planned who they wanted in their parties. There was one last cloaked figure sitting alone. Max decided to approach him/her and Kirito followed.

"You got left out, didn't you…"  
"No, I simply came to receive orders. Everyone else seemed to know each other and joining them probably isn't that much of a good idea."  
"Well then, do you want to join us?"

The cloaked figure looked up for a brief moment, exposing the bottom of his/her face for a brief moment, but not long enough for Max or Kirito to see what he/she really looked like, or if it was a he or a she at all. He/she didn't seem convinced.

"It'll only be for this battle…" Max said the first thing that came to mind. It was their last hope of convincing this player to help them considering he/she could simply decide not to help with the floor boss at all.

Fortunately, they received a slight nod and the party was formed.

They checked their HP bars and saw the new name next to it.

Asuna.

_ Entrance to the Boss Room, 2 days later_

"Okay guys, I only have one word of advice before we tackle the boss. Let's win"

The boss room was dark. No one could see inside for more than a few metres. Everyone stepped inside. The whole room started lighting up with a rainbow glow.

The name _Illfang the Kobold Lord _appeared above the red roaring monster as well as 4 bars of green HP.

"**COMMENCE ATTACK!**"

_ A little while later_

With Diabel's leadership, the raid group was doing quite well against _Illfang the Kobold Lord_, reducing its HP bit by bit. Very slowly but surely, players started believing that they really could beat the floor boss and that this 'Death game' was actually survivable.

"EVERYONE MOVE" exclaimed Diabel as _Illfang_ threw away his previous weapons and unsheathed a No-Dachi. Max saw Diabel's sword glow yellow. He knew that skill. He also knew exactly what Diabel was trying to do. Wait…

"DIABEL, NO!" Max charged as well, staying right behind Diabel.

He was losing ground.

_Illfang _leapt up into the air.

Diabel realised too late when he saw _Illfang_ diving at him from above.

"I'LL GET TO YOU FIRST!"

_Vorpal Strike. _The blow didn't deal much damage but it did the trick anyway. _Illfang _had been knocked off course towards the other players and Diabel had been knocked out of the way of any possible future attacks. _Illfang _didn't seem fazed by the amount of damage he received, but Max had already planned a follow-up attack. 

"Kirito, Asuna, let's finish this"

Kirito glanced at Max. Max shook his head. Kirito nodded in understanding. Dual Blades would be their secret for as long as they could possibly keep it a secret.

All three players charged at the slightly-startled _Illfang._

They all leapt at the same time.

_Star Splash. Savage Fulcrum. Howling Octave._

The sword skills, used by Asuna, Kirito and Ryuken in that order, ferociously attacked the floor boss. _Illfang _seemed to suddenly realise that his life was coming to an end. He accepted defeat and closed his eyes just before the final motions from each of the attacksconnected with their targets. He then shattered into millions of rainbow pixels.

It seemed like everyone had stopped breathing.

'**Congratulations, you have defeated the floor boss.'**

One of the many swordsmen smiled. "Well, that was anti-climactic"

Everyone cheered. Many players moved closer to the trio and congratulated them many times.

"How did you know?" It was Kibaou.

Everyone raised their eyebrows.

"How did you know about the boss's attack patterns? How did you know that Diabel would've died if he had taken the blow? You wouldn't know any of this, unless the three of you are **BETA-TESTERS**." He spat the last word as if they provided a foul taste in his mouth. Everyone looked at them in shock.

Kibaou continued. "What level are you guys? It must be pretty high considering you guys just did what you did there."

Max and Kirito were stunned. Sure, it was pretty obvious after that display that they were in the beta, but all of the players had decided to ignore this fact since they helped beat the floor boss. Now everyone would be insulting them for not helping low-level players. Luckily for them, Asuna came to their rescue.

"For your information, I'm not a beta-tester and I'm a level 8."

Many of the players gasped in appreciation. The average level was probably around 4 or 5 considering the amount of players that decided to just stay in inns and rot away.

"I don't mean you. I mean the two standing behind you. Those skills are unfamiliar to the other players in the room. You guys are too strong to not have been in the beta test. There must be other beta-testers here. SHOW YOURSELVES!"

_Ryuken's POV_

He was right. We WERE too strong. Unsurprisingly, a new message had appeared in front of me. Surprisingly, it had also appeared in front of Kirito and Asuna. That means the three of us had finished off the boss at the same time. We had all received **Black Cloaks of Midnight**. 

The other players had started looking at each other suspiciously. I gave Kirito a meaningful look. Kirito looked confused. Then, he seemed to have suddenly understood what I meant and looked at me questioningly. I gulped, and then nodded. Then, we both started cracking up like insane men.

Everyone stared at us wondering what in Aincrad was going on.

"You're right" I said "We are beta-testers. We're level 10."

"That's cheating though! It's impossible to be such a high level on the first floor in such a short amount of time!"  
"Yeah, that's a lot worse that being a beta-tester"  
"A cheating beta-tester… A beater!"

"Beater, eh?" I glanced at Kirito. He nodded. "I like it."

Everyone gasped in shock as I continued. "That's right. We're beaters. That's how I knew about the boss's attack patterns. We both fought more skilled opponents than anyone else during the beta-test. Looks like it paid off for you guys as well. Trust us, most of the beta-testers were just newbies who didn't even know how to level up or even what switching was. Even you guys are doing a much better job than they were in the first 2 months of the beta test."

We simultaneously equipped our **Black Cloaks of Midnight**and walked back to the entrance of the boss room.

"From now on, don't confuse us with regular players because we aren't. Oh, and one last thing. We belong to a 2-man guild known as _Shadow Swordsmen_, we don't want anyone signing up. If you want to keep your hard-earned Col, you will listen to us. "

"Wait, you two!" It was Asuna. That wasn't surprising considering that she noticed that I knew her name and she never realised that her party was made up of beaters.

Kirito cut her off. "You seem like a nice girl and a pretty competent fighter" I instantly realised what he was trying to say. After all, like there are limits to being a solo player, there are also limits to being a duo. A trio is a completely different story considering it can achieve an 'ideal' party (1 AGI, 1 STR and 1 balanced player). I cut Kirito off.

"We'll give you a one-time chance because you received the same cloak that we did. We'll let you join us, _The Shadow Swordsmen_ but the moment you do, you aren't allowed to quit until you die or the game is cleared. Whichever one comes first. You may choose, a life as a well-known rapier-wielder **or** a life in the shadows with beaters who will ensure your survival? If you decline this time, there will be no more chances"

Kirito looked shocked that I had put it so bluntly. Well, what did he expect from a guy like me? He looked worried, as if I had completely convinced her that joining us was NOT a good idea. He was even more surprised when he heard the next few words.

"I'll join" and she also equipped **Black Cloak of Midnight****. **

Internally, I felt proud that my plan had worked. It was actually a simple plan, but it worked like a charm. Asuna looked like the type of girl who wouldn't just give up an opportunity. By adding time pressure, she would most likely accept. The fact that we knew her name and all the other mysteries roaming around us just changed that 95% to 100%.

Despite the amount of joy we were feeling because we were getting such a strong player in our guild, we only let a slight grin show on our mouths. After all, men don't jump for joy just because someone decided to join their guild.

We added her as a friend and accepted her into the guild. Because we were Guild Leader and Administrator, we could see her stats and noticed that she seemed a bit **too **keen on AGI. Hmm… that would DEFINITELY have to change sometime.

"To all of you who are here right now, we are a guild which should most definitely be left alone (though we won't PK you if you do annoy us)."

"We lie in the shadows, waiting for the most opportune moment before we strike. We will help you with floor bosses, but don't expect us to be there every time or for any of us to join any of your parties, though we may ask to join ourselves. We fight till the end, win or lose. After every battle, we disappear and you forget that we helped at all in the battle.

**That is what it means to be one of us! That is what it means, to be a **_**Shadow Swordsman**_**!"**

All around us, people were shocked about the speech which I had just given, as well as letting all that I just said sink in. Personally, I was surprised I had managed to think of all that on the spot as well. I turned to face the door which we had come in from around 10 minutes ago.

"Now, let's move to the 2nd floor and find a place to stay at, shall we?"

_**A/N: YAY! ANOTHER CHAPTER FINISHED (inspiration suddenly struck)  
A/N #2: The chapters are sustaining their length (compared to the first few, these are quite long)  
A/N #3: I randomly decided to use first-person halfway through, it seemed easier than third-person.  
A/N #4: Do me a favour, please review this story because I have no idea what anyone thinks about it.  
A/N #5: I'm planning to do a little bit of Kirito/Asuna within the next 3 chapters though it will be nothing major.**_

**Until next time**

**Kirito'sDarkRepulser**__


	5. Chapter 4: Revelations

**2X2 Swords **by Kirito'sDarkRepulser

_**A/N: YAY! FIRST REVIEW :D  
A/N #2: I forgot to put this in the last update, but in my story, Black Cloak of Midnight also comes with a hood.  
A/N #3: I've decided that Heathcliff won't be the last floor boss, instead that will be revealed when the story progresses to that point (if I ever get there XD) **_

_Stats Update:  
_Kirito: Level 10, 2000HP, 10 STR, 7AGI, 2 DEF,1VIT  
Ryuken: Level 10, 2000HP, 9 STR, 9 AGI, 1 DEF, 1VIT  
Asuna: Level 8, 1750 HP, 2 STR, 12AGI, 1 DEF, 1VIT

**This **is anything which needs to be emphasised**  
This**is the name of an item or equipment  
_This _is either change of setting or the name of a monster  
_This _is the naming of anything not mentioned above except players.

_**Chapter 4: Revelations**_

_The Day After Where We Left Off, 7:00 AM, Urbus, 2__nd__ Floor_

Ryuken yawned and stretched as he woke up and the first few rays of sunlight were visible. _Urbus _was actually quite a nice place when you ignored the fact that it had too many mountains to block out the sun and resulted in only 11 hours of sunlight every day.

Kirito, who was in a bed half a metre away from his, was still sleeping soundly and didn't look like he wanted to be woken up anytime soon. It makes Max wonder how he managed to get up the first few days for their grinding sessions together.

Asuna had insisted on having a room to herself, even if having another room made the total cost almost double the price of a room with three beds. Then again, it was pretty reasonable considering she was the only female in the group.

A message appeared in his notifications. Asuna. He tapped the icon with his fingers and the message was displayed to him.

"You up yet?" Short and to the point. Just like her fighting style.

He clicked the reply button.

"Yea, but Kirito doesn't look like he will be up anytime soon. Wanna grab breakfast first? We can come back for him afterwards." He got up out of the bed, all his gear except the 2nd Anneal Blade, walked to the entrance of the inn and started waiting.

Around 10 minutes later, a rather well-prepared looking Asuna tapped him on the shoulder.

"Well then, shall we go?"  
"Yeah, let's go" They equipped their **Black Cloaks of Midnight** and walked off in search of a place which might provide them with good food.

After 20 minutes, they finally decided on a noodle bar which seemed rather unpopulated, sat down in the corner and ordered their breakfast. They also remembered to takeaway some fried noodles for Kirito, who would probably complain if they didn't buy him food.

Unexpectedly, within the next few minutes, a huge stream of customers suddenly appeared within the store and the bar was now packed. Quite an achievement considering that most of the now 9600 players were still in the starting city, barely holding on to survival with the amount of Col they have and also that the bar could probably serve around 30 people at the same time.

The noodle bar was filled with a friendly atmosphere with people chatting with their friends about tips for hunting certain monsters, quests and of course, players boasting about their achievements.

"Here's your order" an NPC who was holding their food finally broke the silence surrounding Max and Asuna. The bar suddenly went quiet. Slowly, people started whispering between themselves.

"Hey, aren't they the beaters who announced themselves yesterday after the boss fight?"  
"Yeah, the cloaks, where they chose to sit, their guild symbol of _Shadow Swordsman_, it has to be them"  
"Wow, I don't even know what they look like, but they seem evil somehow…"  
"I think we should leave this place, it's probably not that great if **they're **here…"

Ryuken reacted badly to the last one. He spoke directly to the speaker "Don't bother, we were about to leave anyway." And that is exactly what he did, after grabbing 2 takeaway boxes and 2 pairs of disposable chop-sticks.  
"Oh, and one last thing, the pork ramen (_**A/N: Ramen is a type of soup noodle, read/watch Naruto (manga/anime) for more information) **_this place serves is really good. Whether you try it or not isn't my problem."

_Lobby of the inn_

Kirito was worried. Sure, he wasn't the type to wake up early, but that didn't mean that they should just ditch him. If this continues, Ryuken and Asuna will become stronger than him and he will have to grind late into the night to keep up with them. Not good. They had probably already started.

"Hey, we brought you food"

Kirito jumped and crashed into Ryuken who was behind him. The noodles went flying, but Asuna managed to catch them with her 12AGI. Both boys sighed in relief. That was before Kirito started lecturing the duo.

"Why did you leave without me? I was worried about you two! You could've been PKed by others; you could've accidentally found a strong mini-boss and died! You could've…"  
"For goodness sake, we get the point" cut-in Asuna "YOU, could've decided to wake up earlier and actually choose your breakfast" holding the plastic bag in front of Kirito.

They heard a laugh. It sounded relieved. They turned to look at the culprit.

"Ha, ha… sorry, when I heard about the beater thing, I expected you guys to be a lot older. I'm rather happy to know that you guys are actually younger than I am. You guys are actually normal people like me."  
"Who're you?"  
"I'm Agil, Two-Handed Battle-Axe-wielder and Blacksmith. I'd like to know what actually makes you guys so special." Holding out his hand for the trio to shake.  
"What do you mean?" Asuna look sceptical. That was to be expected considering how she was when Ryuken and Kirito first met her.  
"I mean, obviously you guys aren't cheaters. It's pretty hard to hack _The System_, not that I've tried, I just heard about the technology." They shook hands.  
"Well, since I'm a rapier-wielder, I attack a lot faster than most other players and can gain exp faster that way. I don't have any idea how these two are higher level than me."

Kirito looked at Ryuken. Ryuken looked at Kirito. They seemed to have a silent conversation.

"It just doesn't make sense" Asuna continued "You guys are a higher level so you obviously have more money and therefore have more than enough to afford a shield, a good one at that. I use a rapier and I don't want to slow myself down so I have an excuse, but you two don't go for speed either. What's your secret?"

The silent conversation continued and then drew to an end.

"Do you two swear secrecy?" Asuna instantly nodded  
"I will on a condition. You guys come to me more than half of the time when your weapons need some maintenance."  
Ryuken hesitated. "All right, we have a deal."  
Kirito and Asuna didn't seem to understand.  
"After all, NPC Smiths can only go so far."

Ryuken took a deep breath. He may regret saying this sometime in the future.

"Well, the truth is, Kirito and I have a half-Unique Skill. It's because of that skill that we can level so fast."  
"What skill?" Asuna pushed on. Ryuken sighed inside because he should've known that Asuna was that type of girl.  
"Dual Blades"  
"Dual Blades?"  
"Yes, Dual Blades. A skill which is designed especially to wield two One-Handed Long-Swords at the same time. One of the many skills is _Starburst Stream_, a 16-hit combo."

Asuna thought for a while.

"But then, why are you two the only ones to get it? Why not anyone else?"  
"Well, the thing is, we don't know. When we entered the game, we just so happened to have the skill in our skill list."

And then, Max and Kirito blacked out…

_Somewhere within SAO_

Max opened his eyes. Everything was pitch black. What had happened? Had he been PKed? Was this what death felt like? If so, then all the dead people in history must be VERY bored by now.

His thoughts were interrupted by what he had nick-named _The Red Floating Cloak_, aka the one that had given all the players the tutorial, aka Kayaba Akihiko.

"You must have many questions by now. I'm here to answer them. Think of this as a 2nd tutorial. For you and the only other player with Dual Blades in the game."

That was when Max finally noticed that Kirito was beside him. It seemed like Kirito had only noticed as well.

"Why us? Not saying that we don't the Dual-Blades skill, but why us?" Kirito voiced the question which they had both been wondering for the past 2 months.

"The truth is, Dual Blades is given to the player, in this case players, with the fastest reaction time. You guys happened to have exactly the same reaction time so both received it."

"Another question. Why did it seem as if levelling up has gotten simpler since the beta?"  
"Ah, so you noticed. The truth is, well, you guys have been earning exp from each other."

The pair looked stumped. What was Kayaba going on about? How do you earn exp from another person?

"You two have been given a hidden passive skill. I called it '_A Man's Gain, A Party's Gain_'. For example, if Kirito-kun slayed a monster and gained 10 exp, everyone in his party would gain a certain amount of exp as well, depending on how well acquainted they are with him. That skill was supposed to be the key to clearing the game. Having all the players in the same party, gaining experience from one another until they were strong enough to attempt fighting, even if it is only the weakest of monsters.

Using that method, gradually, every player will be strong and there will be more front-liners and the game would be beatable. I didn't expect the whole beater thing, but it has only lengthened your life in Aincrad.

Right now, the passive skill you two have only affects one other player because she is in your guild. For every 100 exp any one of you gain, the others will receive 25 exp. From now on, Asuna will also start levelling at an extremely fast rate.

Another thing is that the skill also applies to all Boss and Mini-Boss Drops. Ryuken was actually the one to deal the final blow, but because you guys were all in a party, you all received **Black Cloak of Midnight**."

There was a pause. It seems like Kayaba had finally finished speaking.  
"Is that the end of the 2nd tutorial? You've told us everything you wanted to say, haven't you?"  
"Yes, that is the end of the 2nd tutorial, no, I have not finished speaking. There is one last thing you guys need to do."

There was a flash of white light. The tell-tale signs of a teleportation. It was Asuna.

"Huh? Where are we?"  
"I don't know, but I think we're about to go into battle. Kayaba Akihiko just explained a few things to us."

Kirito and Max took turns repeating everything that Kayaba had said. When they were finished, Asuna spoke "So pretty much, we get exp from each other and we all get the boss drop if one of us does, right"  
"Yes, that is pretty much what we said"  
They then all turned to face Kayaba. He started speaking again. "Now, I will give you guys a chance. The rules are simple. I will allow you three to challenge the 75th Floor Boss right here, right now. If you guys are Killed In Action, you will simply be revived with full HP back in your rooms in the inn you slept in last night. If you win though, I will give you three each a VERY special gift. Do you accept the terms?"

They all nodded. Why not?

Suddenly, what looked like a HUGE centipede made of bones appeared before them.

"Good luck" and Kayaba disappeared.

They checked its name. _The Skull Reaper_. It looked strong too.

"Any ideas on how to do this?" questioned Asuna.

Kirito and Max shook their heads. Who WOULD know what to do when challenging a Floor Boss 65 floors higher than anything they've ever experienced and looked as if his whole body was a weapon?

Kirito decided to speak "How about this, we all pretend we're fighting solo and only defend each other when they NEED help."

The others could only agree. They didn't have any ideas at the moment. The three approached the boss from all different angles.

_The Eclipse, Starburst Stream, Star Splash, Quadruple Pain, Howling Octave, Savage Fulcrum, Vorpal Strike, Horizontal, Slant, Vertical, Uppercut, Vertical Arc… _an endless list of sword skills continually attacked the boss.

_Skull Reaper _roared.

They had somehow managed to take out a bar of its HP. 1 down 4 to go.

The next hour felt like days. Days of exhaustion. Days of struggling. Days of thinking about giving up. Days of hardships together as a guild. Days of standing right outside the doors of death.

But finally, as the final day finally ended, the sun's light was blocked out by an eclipse. The final eclipse for a long, long time. Kirito's eclipse, and it was during the eclipse, a stream of stars struck the foundations of the colossus and it finally crumbled. The new problem is what now?

_**A/N: Yay, finally achieved half a cliff hanger  
A/N #2: A bit of poetry for the last paragraph, I don't know what I was thinking but pretty much, Kirito learnt The Eclipse, Ryuken used Starburst Stream and Asuna used Star Splash as their finishing strikes  
A/N #3: My inspiration is still on-going, but school starts soon so I'll probably go back to updating at snail pace next week. In the meantime, I will get as many chapters done as possible.  
A/N#4: Please tell me if you guys think I'm giving Max and co too many advantages compared with the other players, I can give them some disadvantages to counter that. Don't say anything if you guys are fine with it.  
A/N #5: Do me a favour, please click the review button and write a review.  
A/N #6: Please PM me for any pairings you guys want. I will consider every single one of them. If no one PMs me, I will assume you guys only want Kirito/Asuna**_

_**Until next time**_

_**Kirito'sDarkRepulser **_


	6. Chapter 5: Customization & The Debut

**2X2 Swords **by Kirito'sDarkRepulser

_**A/N: Nothing to say this time, ONTO THE STORY**_

**This **is anything which needs to be emphasised**  
This**is the name of an item or equipment  
_This _is either change of setting, the name of a skill or the name of a monster  
_This _is the naming of anything not mentioned above except players.

_**Chapter 5: Customization & The Debut**_

_ Boss Room: Floor 1 Right After Where We Left Off Last Time_

_Ryuken's POV_

Right beside me, Kirito was panting. Hard. Another few steps, Asuna was doing the same. Even I was doing the same. After we had defeated _The Skull Reaper, _we were transported here.

We didn't have any potions. They had been temporarily confiscated by Kayaba Akihiko.

We met somewhere around 20 _Ruin Kobold Sentinels_.

We were surviving.

Barely.

Kirito had arrived with 20HP, he had taken one hit. He has 1 HP left. Asuna had arrived with 8HP, luckily, she hadn't taken a hit yet, and was also alive. I had arrived in the worst condition, 1HP, but I had only slain 3 _Ruin Kobold Sentinels _while Asuna had handled 6 and Kirito had handled a whopping 10.

We all stared at the last _Ruin Kobold Sentinel._

We all didn't want to be the one to battle, knowing that if we did and we took a hit, we would die.

We all held all breaths.

We all charged.

Asuna went first, using _Star Splash _and then diving out of the way. Kirito switched instantly, only using a _Vorpal Strike, _but that one stab had stunned the_ Ruin Kobold Sentinel_ and allowed me enough time to switch and unleash _The Eclipse_.

After the 12th hit, the _Ruin Kobold Sentinel _shattered into many pixels of light. We all fell down on our backs. And we laughed. We laughed like there was no tomorrow. We were survivors. And then we blacked out.

_Max and Kirito's Inn Room, A week after the first floor was cleared_

I opened my eyes. I was on the floor. My back hurt. I made a mental note NEVER to sleep on the floor EVER. I opened the character menu. Almost a week had passed and we had only been conscious for an hour of it or so. I closed the menu and sat up. And almost jumped out of my skin.

It was Kayaba Akihiko.

"Ah, I see you are awake, Ryuken-kun. We shall wait for Kirito and Asuna to awaken. When they do, I will give you the reward that I promised."

Just as he was speaking, the other two seemed to come to and also sat up. Same reaction yet again. Same speech yet again.

"The truth is, you guys weren't supposed to even be able to survive _The Skull Reaper_ with your stats despite the fact I reduced all of his stats so that it only had 1% of its true strength. You three have surpassed the laws of my world and shall be greatly rewarded for doing so. I also now know what improvements to make to counter that."

"Now, the reward I have allowed you is to evolve your guild into the guild with the strongest players in Aincrad. Each of you will have a title. Your title will be determined by what you choose next."

He brought up a new screen. It looked like a designing program.

"You will each create your own set of equipment. I will have naming rights though and they will appear to be player-made by you when appraised. You can start designing whenever you want. Press the finish button when you are done and when all of you are finished, I will come back to give you guys the next step."

After around an hour, Kirito and Asuna had finished. Both of their designs looked quite a lot better than mine.

Kirito's design greatly resembled Blackwyrm Coat (his last coat in SAO) except it had blue flames at the bottom, a hood and had a design similar to the lightning zigzag near the wrists. His swords were a black version of Dark Repulser. He had also designed a pair of blue wings which used acute angles and had a black frame.

Asuna on the other hand had a design similar to her KoB uniform, the differences include that instead of the KoB design, Asuna had went for a pair of angelic wings. All the red had also been turned into yellow. Her version of Lambent Light produced a light blue glow. Her wings were pure white, the same design as the ones she had on her armour.

I finally looked at my design. I'd gone for the ninja effect. My design was a black version of the ANBU gear (from Naruto). The mask was slightly dragonish and the marks were golden instead of red. My swords were completely black with the handle having a golden tape going around it (like the Dragon Sword from Ninja Gaiden). My wings were the type that instantly made you think of a golden dragon.

We all pressed the finished button.

Kayaba Akihiko appeared before us again. He inspected our designs.  
"Kirito, your set shall be known as the Thunder God set. Asuna, your set shall be the Archangel set. Ryuken, your set shall be known as the Golden Ninja set. The next step is the stats that your sets will have.

I will give you each 10 points. You can spend them on Speed, Damage, Durability or Defence. These particular stats will be set in this ratio."

Kirito went for 3 Speed, 3 Damage, 3 Durability, and 1 Defence.  
Asuna went for 5 Speed, 2 Damage, 2 Durability and 1 Defence.  
I decided on 4 Speed, 3 Damage, 2 Durability and 1 Defence, what I think is the most balanced of our trio.

"That is all of the customization. Whether you choose to wear it or not isn't my choice. That gear is a double-edged sword. Use it wisely. The gear will automatically get stronger depending on your own stats and your levels. How much you use the gear will not affect its strength, only its durability. One last thing, I suggest you change something about your guild…"

Then, he disappeared. We all sat there, not knowing what to do next. I opened the public maps of the dungeon. The front-liners had almost cleared the dungeon. They've already reached the boss room. That decided my next goal.

I was going to make my debut. I was going to slay the Floor Boss.

I looked at Kirito and Asuna. "The clearers have gotten to the boss room already but no one seems to want to fight it. Should we make our debut now?"

I looked directly at Kirito. After all, he'd gotten 1 floor further up than me in the beta-test. He was more experienced and should have authority.

Slowly, Kirito nodded. "I've fought him before. _Baran the General Taurus_. That's his name. He wields a war hammer. His only special skill is _Numbing Impact_, a skill which stuns all the players it connects with. His speciality is high damage."

"Okay, let's make our debut."

_Entrance to the Boss Room, Floor 2, 20 minutes later_

_Normal POV_

Surprisingly, there was a group of around 8 players at the entrance of the boss room. They seemed to be waiting for another group of players to help them with the boss. Their HP were mostly in the green zone, with 2 players in the yellow zone and one red, who was just reaching for a potion. One of the players finally noticed our golden trio.

"Those cloaks, IT'S THE BEATERS GUYS!"

The group didn't know whether to be happy or sad. Happy that the beaters were going to help them kill the boss or sad that they need help from beaters.

"Are you guys here to help us or to scout the boss?" that was probably the leader.

"None of the above. Us three are going to solo the boss as a party. You may watch if you wish." Kirito instantly spoke our thoughts.

They group looked shocked.

"Even if you are beaters, you can't possibly beat the boss, can you?"  
"Then watch us. Watch us defeat it."  
"We just did a trial battle with it. It's WAY stronger than the first floor boss even though it doesn't have any support at all. You guys won't win."  
"You'll see. Are you watching or not?"

The players nodded like they didn't believe what we were saying. Well, that was to be expected. 3 beaters aren't expected to be able to solo a floor boss. But, our golden trio isn't exactly a group of normal beaters either.

We opened the door…

_ Boss Room, 2__nd__ Floor_

"Let's go" Max breathed. As if we were trained soldiers in the army, the trio all simultaneously opened our inventories and equipped our new sets of battle gear. They became surrounded by a white light.

The spectators looked shocked. Then again, the gear did look too good to be from the first two floors. Asuna drew her rapier. Kirito and Ryuken each drew two swords. It had previously been decided that Asuna would be the commander for this battle because she seemed to be the best strategist in the trio.

"Begin Attack"

They charged.

_Boss Room, 2__nd__ Floor, 3 minutes later_

_Ryuken's POV_

I have to admit, the boss's skill was pretty annoying. If it wasn't for the new armour and my agility, my HP would probably be in the yellow zone. None of us were yellow yet. None of us planned to be the first to get to yellow.

_Baran the General Taurus_ on the other hand wasn't doing so well. It's final bar of HP had reached the yellow zone. He was almost dead.

"**Let's Finish This**" Kirito had given the signal. _Howling Octave, Star Splash, The Eclipse_. With that, the boss was finished. It seemed like we had acquired signature skills. We sheathed our blades. We turned to look at the spectators.

Shock is a major understatement for the emotion displayed on their faces. The truth was, even we were surprised that we had thrived so much. Asuna spoke.

"Regarding what was said last time, we take that back. Though we are beaters, we're still on your side. Because of us, you can all escape from the death-game quicker. We are not your enemies."

"_The Thunder God, The Archangel, The Golden Ninja_" we each took a step forward as we were addressed.

"We are no longer the _Shadow Swordsman_.

We are allies of anyone that wants to escape this death-game.

We will help you and protect you.

We are your friends

We are the _Divine Guardians_

We are your quickest way out of Aincrad."

_**A/N: Yet another chapter finished. Unfortunately, my speed will be decreasing by a LOT, so sorry followers, you won't be receiving the e-mail you've been hoping for for quite a while XD  
A/N #2: Tell me if I went overboard with the whole Divine Guardians thing by PM, any other criticism should go into the reviews. Any praise should also be going into reviews.  
A/N #3: The Kayaba that appeared in this chapter isn't Heathcliff. He wears a lab coat in this appearance. He still plays the game as Heathcliff though.  
A/N #4: I will stop considering requests for parings after I post Chapter 10 unless there is a change of plan or there is some special reason to put another pair in.  
A/N #5: The Kirito/Asuna I promised shall be in the next chapter. Hint Hint. It will only be light though.  
A/N #6: Please do me a favour and tell me how the story is going by leaving a review. Thank you.**_

_**Until next time**_

_**Kirito'sDarkRepulser**_


	7. Chapter 6: Hunted

**2X2 Swords **by Kirito'sDarkRepulser

_**A/N: YAY! A PM! Thanks to LowCrawler for the advice and for being the first to review and thanks to a dude for reviewing**_

**This **is anything which needs to be emphasised**  
This**is the name of an item or equipment  
_This _is either change of setting, the name of a skill or the name of a monster  
_This _is the naming of anything not mentioned above except players.

_Stats Update  
_Ryuken: Level 12: 2350HP, 10 STR, 11 AGI, 1 DEF, 2 VIT  
Kirito: Level 11: 2200HP, 11STR, 8AGI, 2DEF, 1VIT  
Asuna: Level 10: 2000 HP, 3 STR, 13AGI, 2DEF, 2VIT

_**Chapter 6: Hunted**_

_Floor 3, Rumarf, 2 Days Later_

Today, unlike other days, we find our protagonist cursing Kayaba Akihiko to the best of his ability.

"Stupid Kayaba, didn't tell us anything about the consequences of wearing that thing. Why didn't you tell us that straight after that, you would make all of the other players fight us?"

That was exactly what had happened. After the 2nd Floor Boss Battle, our trio had unequipped their _Divine Guardians _equipment to find that they couldn't equip it for another week. Not only that, their stats had all been halved for that week except their HP, making things a LOT harder for the trio because if they decided to use the equipment again, it still had a time limit of 1 day per use.

Kayaba Akihiko had also designed a special event for the introduction of the _Divine Guardians_. The event had a special quest which could be accepted from an NPC in the boss room back on the First Floor. The quest was a 3v3 PvP Battle against the _Divine Guardians _meaning our trio couldn't do the quest and had to be ready for battle at any moment. Unlike other PvP, this battle was a fight to the death, with anyone who's HP drops to 0 being revived at full health and excluded from the battle. If even one of us 'died' the whole party lost. We didn't know what the consequence of losing was, but our instincts told us that there definitely would be one. Just yesterday, 9 parties had challenged them to battles, with the goddess of victory smiling on the guardians every single time. That may be about the change though…

_Battle #10_

_Ryuken's POV_

"This is the first battle against the guardians which has lasted over 5 minutes. It looks like the challenging team may actually stand a chance." Shouted a player named ShadowBlade who had decided to be commentator for every single one of our matches.  
"Ya hear that Kirito? We might actually beat you guys."

It was the pink-haired guy, Crane? Crying? Klein! That was the name. Under normal circumstances, we would already have won by now but because of Kayaba Akihiko's stupid half-stats buff. Klein was teamed up with the man who we had met at the inn, Agil, and another swordsman who we'd never heard of before: Thinker.

They were actually doing rather well compared to our expectations and were pretty good at teamwork. Better than we were.

I had 1173 HP left. On my right, Kirito had 1029. On his right, Asuna had 934. Meanwhile, Klein had 547 of his 1200HP, Agil had 978 of his 1400 HP (HOW MUCH DEFENSE DOES THIS GUY HAVE?!) and Thinker, the leader of the party, still had a full HP bar of 1200.

Kirito's breathing slowed. Asuna and I instantly knew what he was going to say. Within the amount of time we had spent together and the amount of battles we had been through together, we had learnt each other's habits. This typical signal meant for us to use our strongest sword skills.

I equipped my second Anneal Blade. I smirked… I charged…

_Starburst Stream_.

Thankfully, Klein's HP dropped to 0 with that skill and it was now 2v3. Or not.

Asuna had challenged Agil to a 1-on-1 inside our 3v3 battle. Asuna, being faster than Agil can attack, finished him off by spamming _Star Splash_ and taking almost no damage. Kirito looked like he was having the hardest time, Thinker was actually quite a competent warrior.

Thinker's HP was now reduced to 937 but Kirito's HP was now in the red zone: 279. Then again, it was Long-Sword+Shield vs Long-sword since Kirito wasn't dual-wielding. Surprising considering he gave us the signal to finish the other 2 off.

I finally couldn't take it anymore. I didn't care if the spectators (Klein, Agil, ShadowBlade and a few others who had challenged us before) saw how we fought when we were going all out. I wasn't letting Kirito's HP fall below 50 (considering fewer than 50 would probably mean a KO the next time he was hit).

I crouched down. I used all the muscles in my legs to spring myself towards Thinker. I made a stance. The area surrounding Kirito, Thinker and I darkened. My swords glowed. The area turned black.

_The Eclipse_.

'Faster' I thought. 'so that the Guardians will still be invincible'

I looked at Thinker's HP and then Kirito's HP.

'Even faster'

Still not enough.

'Impossibly fast!'

The world around me suddenly seemed to stop moving.

I continued attacking. I couldn't stop now. Thinker shattered into millions of pixels of light. The light pixels slowly regrouped next to Klein and formed Thinker's body again.

Time resumed it's normal pace.

"WHOA, THAT WAS AWESOME" exclaimed Shadowblade "you were doing this super strong sword skill, and the BAM you disappear, and in the next moment, you appear again and Thinker's HP drops to 0."

I looked around. Agil seemed calm about losing. Klein was crying over the fact they almost won and Thinker was comforting him. Kirito and Asuna were hugging each other. I could just barely hear them whispering.

"…I thought you were going to die…"  
"You know I wouldn't actually die if I 'died' right?"  
"Yea, but I can't stand seeing you dying in any way, shape or form" Asuna blushed as she saw Kirito turn red and realised the impact of what she had just said. Then, just as they were moving their faces closer to each other, Klein coughed loudly. They blushed harder, snapping out of their own little world.

Asuna suddenly turned serious. "What was that skill?"  
"I don't know"  
"What do you mean you don't know! You used it! Check your skills."

I checked. Sure enough, a new skill had appeared. It was called _Acceleration_. I opened up the menu. There was only one skill. Skill Flash. I guess that was what I had used on _The Eclipse _to make it so fast. I read the extra notes. I gawked.

**Can only be used once every 2 days.** Beside that message, there was a timer with a count-down, showing how much longer until I could use the skill again. Sure enough, it was a 1 day, 23 hours, 57 minutes, 23 seconds.

I gawked even more at the next skill's description.

_Ultrasonic Slash_. Unlocked at _Acceleration _Level 100. A charge-type skill which allow you to charge through your opponent. After the whole motion is complete, you opponent will instantly be slashed 20 times. Also cancels recharge time for _Sprint _skill _Flash step_ for 30 seconds. Skill recharge time: 1 minute. Skill recharge time after a battle: 1 week. That meant I could pretty much spam this skill and be invincible for one battle.

This skill **definitely** wasn't normal.

Out of nowhere, Argo appeared _**A/N: Remember when I said I had big plans for her?**_. She looked like someone who had just won the jackpot in a lottery. Gradually, she calmed herself and spoke in a formal tone.  
"Since you three seem to always run into the most interesting information, I have decided to change the deal. I will allow you to choose to ask another question OR you can choose to get paid for the information."  
"How much are you paying?"  
"Considering the amount of information I want… how does 3000 Col sound?"

We paused. Considering the prices Argo normally charged, this meant that the information that she wanted needed to include every detail.

"Fine, but payment before services."  
"Agreed, here's your 3000 Col.  
Now, first question. Are you guys helping Kayaba Akihiko?"  
"No, of course not."  
"Then where did you get all that equipment from? Not only that, the skills you guys have are way too strong for floors like these, you can't not have a secret."  
"Well, the truth is, we earned our skills by having the fastest reaction time for all the players in the whole game. The equipment was just given to us by Kayaba Akihiko."

Argo seemed REALLY suspicious. Who wouldn't be? She gradually seemed to accept the facts and decided that that was all that she had to ask about since we didn't really have that much information that we could give her.

"I've decided that I'll give you an extra service considering the deal we have. I'll start giving you information before the battles about every single player. This way, you guys will be the main force in the front lines and will be able to get information earlier than anyone else. Don't get me wrong, I'm not helping you guys. I'm simply helping myself. Any disadvantages you have will hinder the speed in which you obtain information. That's why I'm helping you."

As she left, I had an uncomfortable feeling. A feeling that this wasn't ANYWHERE near the end. We were the prey of around 9500 players. There were bound to be more players after us.

Despite this, I sighed and decided that I would enjoy this floor while I could. We, as a party, walked to the outskirts

Floor 3 was a beautiful place with many forests and a cloudless sky. I was content with just relaxing in the sunlight for the moment. Kirito and Asuna were asleep next to me. Who wouldn't in such good weather?

That was when a special quest was added to our quest logs…

_**A/N: SORRY FOLLOWERS I TOOK SO LONG TO UPDATE  
A/N #2: SORRY EVEN MORE THAT I WILL PROBABLY HAVE TO KEEP THIS SPEED THIS SPEED FOR QUITE A WHILE  
A/N #3: Another cliff-hanger  
A/N #4: Please review**_

_**Until next time**_

_**Kirito'sDarkRepulser**_


	8. Chapter 7: Awakening

_**2X2 Swords **_by Kirito'sDarkRepulser

_**A/N: No, I'm not dead, I was just hibernating for a long time  
A/N #2: To lowcrawler: thanks for yet another review, in my defence, I did say it was going to be minor**_  
_**A/N#3: The boss information that I get is based on the game Sword Art Online: Eternal World**_

**This **is anything which needs to be emphasised**  
This**is the name of an item or equipment  
_This _is either change of setting, the name of a skill or the name of a monster  
_This _is the naming of anything not mentioned above except players.

_Stats Update  
_Ryuken: Level 13: 2500HP, 11 STR, 11 AGI, 2 DEF, 2 VIT  
Kirito: Level 12: 2350HP, 12STR, 8AGI, 2DEF, 2VIT  
Asuna: Level 12: 2350 HP, 5 STR, 15AGI, 2DEF, 2VIT

_**Chapter 7: Awakening**_

_Misty Forest, Entrance to Boss Room, 2 days later_

_Ryuken's POV_

We were finally here. The _Misty Forest_. This was where the boss would be. According to Argo anyway… but Argo hasn't ever failed us so there's no reason she would this time. Speaking of Argo, she had kept her word and given information about every single player we battled. Even vague outlines of their attack patterns (because humans can change attack patters, but the base will always be somewhat the same).

Back to the present, I thought about why we were here. To solo the 3rd Floor Boss. With half stats. And a recharging **Unique Skill**. And no Divine Guardians amour. Things were certainly not looking good.

No, this is worse than not good. We're DEAD.

But, we had to do it. That was what the quest had said. We had to solo the Floor Boss. If we died, that's our problem, but if we succeeded, there will be a big prize.

The quest reward was some kind of emblem. Well, that was its outward appearance anyway.

We looked at one another. We didn't really have a choice. We pushed the door open.

_ Boss Room_

The boss room from the inside looked like a clearing in the forest. Beautiful azure skies greeted us to what would most likely be our doom. But there wasn't a boss…

"SCREEECH!"

I felt a sharp pain on my back. My HP drained to around 70%. I looked at what had hit me.

And felt like we had already lost all hope of winning this battle.

_The Forest King: Garuda _was something along the lines of a cross between a dragon and a swallow. I would admire its beauty for a few days if it wasn't for the fact IT WAS STILL TRYING TO KILL ME!

I suddenly felt even more scared when I looked at Kirito and Asuna. They were standing still. They weren't moving. They certainly weren't dead because if they were, they wouldn't still be here, but it seemed like **us** soloing the boss has turned into **me** soloing the boss.

I prepared to charge. That was when I realised I couldn't.

_2 minutes later_

23HP left. One more hit and it was game over. Surprisingly, Kirito and Asuna still hadn't made a move yet.

_Garuda _swooped down. Well, might as well get a few final hits before I die. I started making calculations in my head. T-5 seconds…4… 3… 2… 1… _The Eclipse!_

I was surrounded by white light.

_ A few seconds later…_

I had absolutely no idea what had happened. All that I knew was that we were all surrounded by white auras, Kirito's **Anneal Blade** was surrounded by blue lightning, and we were all alive.

I looked at _The Forest King: Garuda_ again. I was shocked. It was no longer beautiful. It was blue, black, purple and surprisingly, almost dead. It wasn't moving…

I suddenly had an eureka moment and realised that was Kirito's handiwork. The lightning had stunned _Garuda_. Kirito raised his sword. What was he doing? That wasn't a sword skill and he most definitely wasn't in range.

Obsidian clouds appeared within the azure sky. He brought the sword down.

A flash of lightning.

A shattering sound.

The cry of a fallen bird.

An explosion.

Countless rainbow pixels rising into the air.

The sky cleared and returned to its original colour. Congratulations, you have cleared the Floor Boss. We only received Col and Exp.

Kirito and Asuna were looking through their skill menus.

"Archangel's Blessing"  
"Thunder God's Fury"

That explained why I had survived. I was glad to say that we were now 'awakened' Guardians instead of beaters who only had different gear. It also meant we had a higher chance of survival because we had more Guardian skills.

It also meant that we could move to the next floor.

_Floor 4: Main City (Aquerion)_

This city would probably be impossible to build in reality when costs were considered. _Aquerion_ was a city to be admired. Standing in the city is like walking on water. Indestructible translucent crystals created the floor of the city, allowing its inhabitants to examine all of the sea creatures beneath. Pillars of water could be located at all four corners of the city and one main water feature lied in the centre.

I must say, I wouldn't mind living here for the rest of my time in SAO. But we had a job to do. And we would definitely risk our lives to complete the task.

Beside me, my companions were also dazzled by its beauty. Unfortunately, that came to an end as we walked to the closest shop. Inside was, to our surprise, a player. One that we most certainly recognized from the beta test. Heathcliff.

_Ryuken's Mind_

How had he gotten here before us? No one should know that floor 3 has been cleared already.

_Ryuken's POV_

Heathcliff, in my opinion, is a secretive but respectable character. In the beta test, he did considerably well, probably one of the top 5 (including Kirito and I). He wields both a sword and a shield. What Diabel would've described as a 'Knight' if there was a class system in SAO.

The water underneath the whole floor glowed crimson. I had only one thought in my mind.

**Shit.**

_ Arena, Floor 75_

'Where were we?'

My first thought. Kirito and Asuna were by my side, awakening from their comas as well. In front of us stood Heathcliff. He spoke.

"You are on the 75th floor, Collonia. This floor is specifically design for people to spectate PvP battles. You three will now fight me."

"Who are you?"

Heathcliff raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that already obvious, who would have access to this floor?"

I realised how stupid my question sounded. Of course, there was only one possible identity. Kayaba Akihiko.

"Anyway, I am proposing special… rules for this battle. The battle will be a 1-on-3 battle royal. If you 3 win, you will obtain great rewards, but if you lose, the consequences will also be great."

"We'll go for it" Kirito's voice was full of confidence and left no room for argument despite our opponent. I sighed. To my left, Asuna shook her head. Despite all this, we all agreed. We would fight to the death.

That was the worst option.

_ A few minutes later_

We were losing. By a LONG shot. The current stats were something along the lines of this: Kirito HP: 732/2350 Asuna HP: 619/2350 My HP: 988/2500 Heathcliff HP: 23100/23500.

All our HP bars were decreasing. Heathcliff's skill _Holy Blade _was simply too strong. Asuna received a hit… and shattered. I stared wide-eyed at the result of this PvP match. Asuna had died. Heathcliff was serious.

Kirito's expression told the same story. We both stood up, readied our swords and redoubled our efforts to beat Kayaba. After another few seconds of us trying to beat Heathcliff, Kirito was struck. He shattered too. I snapped.

I don't understand how SAO works, but it definitely could understand my emotions. That did it. I sheathed both my blades and unsheathed them again. And then it happened.

**System Message: Well done player: Ryuken for awakening.**

Heathcliff looked both surprised and amused.

It was hard to describe what happened to me. I had emitted a wave of light and this had happened. Kirito was the one who had pulled me through this whole mess. Kirito had given my life a direction. Helping Kirito clear the game was my only objective. But now that was gone.

I was once again wearing my _Golden Ninja_ set. With a few changes. I recognised the wings from the _Archangel_ set as well as the lightning aura Kirito had when he obtained _Thunder God's Fury_. I now had a new objective. Kill Heathcliff.

I charged.

_A few minutes later_

The last few minutes had been a blur. I didn't know who was winning, who was losing. All that I knew was that I was using a bunch of unfamiliar skills and it was working. Every once in a while, I would bother to check the name of the skill I was using.

The fight was almost over: Heathcliff's HP and mine showed the exact same digit. 1. The last straw. _Finishing Slash._ In a moment, I was behind Heathcliff. I didn't know I had such a skill. Probably from _Acceleration. _Scars appeared on Heathcliff's body. I am consumed by white light.

_ Aquerion, Floor 4_

Funny how you can look at something, and then within the same hour look at it again and have a completely different impression of it. That was how I felt when I was transported back. Despite all of the ninja rules I had learnt from watching Naruto, I still couldn't obey all of them. A ninja does not have emotions.

I let loose.  
Bruno Mars had no idea how right he was when he wrote It Will Rain.

Then I started thinking. If defeat was the worst thing possible for us, then what is this kind of victory? What does victory mean? What is victory?

I made a conclusion.

Victory is simply another word for a different kind of defeat.

_**A/N: Once again, I must express this: No, I'm not quite dead yet. Sorry guys for taking so long to update, I'm happy that the popularity of my story is slowly increasing. Not much else to say.  
A/N #2: Sorry this update is so short. I've been busy. I will try and fit more stuff in for the next update.  
A/N #3: Do me a favour, please click the review button and post a review.**_

_**Until next time**_

_**Kirito'sDarkRepulser **_


	9. Chapter 8: Isolation

_**2X2 Swords **_by Kirito'sDarkRepulser

_**A/N: To thank all my followers and readers for their support we have an exclusive Klein POV this chapter  
A/N #2: Unfortunately, we also have a slight time skip**_

**This **is anything which needs to be emphasised**  
This**is the name of an item or equipment  
_This _is either change of setting, the name of a skill or the name of a monster  
_This _is the naming of anything not mentioned above except players.

_Stats Update  
_Ryuken: Level 26: 5000HP 21 STR, 21 AGI, 6 DEF, 6 VIT

**Chapter 8: Isolation**

_Time skip roughly 2 months later_

_Entrance to boss room: Flaming Forest, Floor 8_

_Klein's POV_

Nobody knows what happened on that fateful day 2 months ago. One moment, everyone was at a strategy meeting on how to beat the 3rd floor boss and who would be sent to scout it. The next, the 3rd floor had been slayed. The _Divine Guardians _also disappeared on that day. Every single one of them. Everyone thinks they're dead. They're names aren't even on the _Monument of Life _anymore, not that many people knew their names.

That isn't what I think. I think that somewhere in this cursed game, they're still alive. All of them. But I have no proof.

The _Guardians_ made great contributions to all players while they were alive. A lot of players became clearers because they either wanted to be like them or be better than them.

But progress slowed with their departure. The amount of clearers instantly plummeted. They probably thought that the _Guardians_ were killed by some mini-boss on one of the dungeons. They're all afraid now.

There is only one solution. Someone had to take their place as the role-models. I decided 3 days after D-Day that I would make _Fuurinkazan _the new version of the _Guardians. _But that isn't easy. How did that little bastard Kirito do it anyway? I am probably in the top ten players now.

We needed to get out of this game.

Fast.

"Okay!" declared Diabel, who was probably a level or two above me, the man who had been declared the boss of this particular boss attack.  
"We'll be starting the attack in 10 minutes, if anyone still wants another friend they know to come and help, they should message them now.

I was EXTREMELY tempted to open my user window and message every single one of the guardians as I had been tempted every single boss battle since D-day. I wanted to confirm that they were alive. I wanted everyone's morale to increase.

"1 minute till we begin"

I sighed. My fellow guild members looked at me, unable to understand my emotions. Except the vice-captain. He knew what I was thinking. They won't be coming back.

"10 seconds"

Then it happened.

A flash of lightning.

Because of the black ash covering all the trees, it was easy to see the figure that had just come. Everyone gaped at the figure, including me. That cloak. Those swords. There was no mistake.

Ryuken.

I instantly ran up to greet him

"Ryuken you little brat! Where have you been for these 2 months? All the front-liners have been worried about you!" I froze.

His eyes. They've changed. The once childish orbs now reflected the image of a battle-hardened veteran. Someone who had seen too much.

I tried to extract a bit more information from him before he completely closed himself and decided to concentrate completely on the battle.

"Where are…"

His head lowered.

"They're dead, or at least, I think they are."

The morale boost which we had almost obtained instantly backfired. 2 of the _Guardians_ had been defeated. I tried a little more.  
"What do you mean, you think they are?"  
"Like you guys have been searching for me for the past 2 months, I've been searching for them. Nothing."  
"How?"  
"You mean how they died?"

I was utterly shocked by how final his words sounded. He spat out the last two.

"Kayaba Akihiko"

Everyone gasped at that revelation. Kayaba Akihiko is in Sword Art Online as well.

_Ryuken POV_

I knew this was going to happen. For the past few months I've been grinding my butt off trying to get a higher level and simply survive. The **Black Cloak of Midnight** helped me in that aspect.

One day, I heard someone talk about the boss raid. I decided that I needed to go. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to save everyone else from what Kirito and Asuna had to endure.

By now, my _hiding_ skill was probably well into the hundreds, as well as _Sprint _to hide from people who almost discovered me, and _One-Handed Sword _because even in the night, one _Dual Blades _skill and people would be able to find me. Despite living in hiding, I thrived compared to other players, being able to live on meals in restaurants.

Despite supposedly disappearing, Argo still knew of my presence and existence. She simply didn't tell anyone because, surprisingly, no one had decided to ask her. Strange considering she was _The Rat._

"Let's go" I commanded.

"Wait a minute…"  
It was that annoying guy again. Kibaou or something weird like that.

"Diabel is our hero. He's the one we listen to. Why would we listen to a recently risen hero who abandoned us for the past 2 months?"

I grimaced. I knew someone would complain. They wouldn't understand. They didn't know the true horror of SAO…

"Hang on, let's listen to this guy, see if he can prove his point." Klein suddenly fought for me.  
"Interesting. Our ranks are based mostly on level. Considering you're one of the _Guardians,_ you can't be weak. We can make you an officer. The requirement for an officer is level 15."  
I held back the urge to snort at that. Officer. Level 15. That was quite a while ago on my timeline.

"I, the commander, am level 19. The most experienced player in Aincrad."

Unfortunately, this time I couldn't hold back. Highest Level Player. Level 19. It was just too funny. I cracked up.

Everyone stared at me weirdly. They thought I had gone insane.

"What, is Leader Diabel's level so high you're going insane with jealousy?" insulted Kibaou. I am going to shut him up.

"No, it's too LOW."

Everyone looked shocked. If Diabel's level was laughable to me, what exactly was my level?

"You are…"  
"26"

Suddenly, everyone obtained smug looks.

"The brat's bluffing" one of them said  
"No one's level can be that high."  
Even Klein looked disappointed in me. I grit my teeth.

"Fine, if you don't believe me, we can have a duel. First to take out half their opponent's HP wins."  
"I accept"

Everyone gasped. Not that Diabel had accepted, they expected him to win. They were shocked that I had issued the challenge.

He issued the challenge.

"Time limit?"  
"One minute"

He raised his eyebrows. The truth is, I didn't even need a minute to beat him. I accepted the duel. There was a lot more on this duel than the spectators realised. After all, this duel would decide who would be the leader. The winner will remain dominant and the loser would forever be humiliated.

**Duel Start**

Diabel charged…

_Finishing Slash._

Just like that, the duel was over.

In that 2 months, I had trained my _Acceleration _as much as I could, reducing the waiting time until I could use it again. I'd now reduced the 'reload' time to a minute. I'd also unlocked a few other skills in the _Acceleration _category.

Everyone stared at the result. My HP was completely full. Diabel's HP was at 1.

A few moments later, Diabel's HP reset to full and he joined Squad E, one of what I call the _Tactical Squads_. They normally consisted of a few swordsmen, a tank and rapier user at the most ideal.

I decided to break the silence

"Well, now that that's over, do we have any complaints?"

No one said anything.

"If you wish to leave, please do now."

Surprisingly, no one left.

"Ok, now, I'll be a soloist and Klein of Squad B, you are now captain of this assault group."

Everyone looked confused. I didn't say anything. They would only understand if they experience what it's like to have me as a leader. In short, I was terrible. And I still am.

"Let's go guys" proclaimed Klein. Everyone followed cautiously. The truth is, I remember this particular boss. A fire snake I think it was. Something about it made it extremely hard to beat in the beta test. I couldn't remember what. All that I know, is that during the beta test I was level 22 when I challenged this boss and now I am 4 levels higher so I should be ok.

_Boss Room, Floor 8_

I think that only I expected the opponent we were facing. After all, _Wadjet the Flaming Serpent _isn't exactly a normal boss. Hell, he wasn't a normal Floor Boss either. He was one of what the beta testers called the _Cubic Bosses_, the most elite of floor bosses that have one of the biggest varieties of skills. That was, excluding the _Quarter Bosses_ which only occurred on floors 25, 50, 75 and of course, the _Jade Palace _on floor 100.

_Cubic Bosses _like their name suggests are the bosses on every single foor which is a cubic number. That mean floors 1 (though that shouldn't really be in there), 8, 27 and 64.

Back to the battle, _Wadjet _is most certainly not the most appealing boss to look at. Then again, almost no monster in all of Sword Art Online was pleasant to look at. This one was simply worse than the others. His fangs blazed with an obsidian azure flame, his body crimson and his claws pale. The lower half of his body was probably made of something similar to snake skin and the tip too burned that same menacing flame. What made him ugly, though, wasn't any of these features. It was the scar. I remember the cause of that scar extremely well…

_Beta Test, same location_

YES! _Wadjet _is dying. I began my finishing combo like all the others in my squad. We knew that we would get a huge reward for slaying this particular beast. Then again, that was true for every other floor boss as well.

They all attacked.

_Wadjet roared_.

We all knew something was wrong.

_Wadjet erupted with a wave of what was most likely flame energy, probably hot enough to melt someone in reality. _

_The white wave hit everyone around him._

_They all shattered._

_I remained unharmed._

_I charged._

_SAVAGE FULCRUM._

Unfortunately, I tripped half way during the sword skill and created a few ugly scars on his body.

He shattered.

I had made the final strike at the cost of ten minutes from every single player who had been hit by that flaming wave.

_Back to the present_

It seems like _Wadjet _still remembers me as well. His 7 bars of HP probably intimidated everyone except me. After all, the boss on the previous floor, if I remember correctly, only had 4.

Then I remembered. He summoned a heck of a lot of fire elementals. Not only that, his crosier could fire a green ray which could kill a player in one shot. That's nice… a boss that has 2 skills which both result in instant death.

"Let's begin!" exclaimed Klein, happy that he was now the leader. I helped the players who were fighting the fire elementals to allow the actual attackers to have a bit of fun before I killed _Wadjet_.

_ 10 minutes later_

It's been quite a while since we've began the attack so the attackers should be well underway. I decided to glance at _Wadjet_.

1 bar of HP which just so happened to be in the red zone.

"Come on everyone! Let's finish him!" Klein commanded.

"NO!" I rebelled. Luckily, everyone leapt back.

I looked at Diabel, my eyes exhibiting intense rage. "You didn't tell them?"

"What do you…"  
"You know what I mean"  
"No, I…"  
"Yes you do… doesn't white fire happen to ring a bell?"

I couldn't take this anymore.

I looked at _Wadjet_. He seemed probably be thinking the same thing as I if he actually had a brain.

I already memorised most of the names and starting positions of the _Acceleration_ skills I had so far. I was about to test one out.

_Brisk Blade_

I even still remember the description:  
_Brisk Blade  
_Up to 1000 hit sword skill.  
Requirements: _Acceleration _skill level 100 and _Dual Blades _skill level 150  
Effect: Temporarily accelerates user to an extent which even the user may not necessarily be able to control. In this time, the target will be continuously struck with deadly precision and enough strength that shockwaves can cause the user to fall back slightly. This skill is not recommended for pvp due to possibility of accidentally killing the opponent.

Well, as they say, now is a good a time as ever.

I activated the sword skill.

_Accelerated World_

Once again, I felt the familiar sensation of acceleration.  
The whole virtual world slowing down around me.  
Me suddenly obtaining unimaginable speed.

I charged forward.

I slashed rapidly.

Then I realised, I was no longer controlling my attacks. I was going so fast that even I, accelerated and all, could not see my own arm.

_Wadjet_'s HP dropped at the same rate. Slow to me, but fast in reality. Chances were that no one who isn't accelerated can even see me, not just my arm.

_Wadjet_ slowly brought down his crosier and a green light shone from it. I knew what was coming. I also knew that if he hits me, I'm dead. After all, this is a 1-hit KO skill as far as I remember. The question now is, who is faster, the accelerated me? Or the one blast from a floor boss?

The green light shone brighter.

10 hits left.

The attack was ready.

7 hits left.

The attack fired.

2 hits left.

With all of the remaining control over my arms, I forced my already accelerated avatar to move even faster.

_Wadjet _was about to shatter. I knew I had taken down his entire remaining HP. The problem is, the attack had already been fired and I don't have much time to dodge it. I leapt with all my might and managed to dodge the attack by a nanometre. I crashed on the ground. The world started speeding up…

_Normal World_

Everyone gaped at me. Again. After all, it wasn't every day that you see a guy decide to charge and solo a floor boss while moving so fast you couldn't see them. They couldn't accept a reality like that. A reality in a virtual reality. A reality which included people so much stronger than you it would be surprising if they couldn't win a duel against you even without any equipment.

The familiar message of '**Congratulations, you have defeated the floor boss**' appeared and the truth sank in. I also realised what was about to happen.

"Hey you," sneered Kibaou. Typical. It had to be him.  
"Why are you so OP? Why do you deserve all the best skills? Even if you solo EVERY single floor boss, we still won't be happy unless you give us all you col, equipment and teach us those skills."

Klein attempted to step in.  
"Hey, why are you always so harsh on him?"  
"BECAUSE HE HAS AN UNFAIR ADVANTAGE OVER EVERYONE ELSE!"  
"So if you had an unfair advantage, you would willingly give all of you gear, col and skills away?"  
"Yes"  
"No you wouldn't. You're lying. I know that for a fact. Your personality is too selfish for you to do something generous like that."

Meanwhile, I was thinking.

Why was it always me?

Why didn't Kayaba pick anyone else?

Why did he have to torture ME?

I decided I couldn't take it anymore.

"See, that proves my point and that Ryuken-san shouldn't need to…"  
"That's enough Klein"

Klein turned to look at me, confused.

"I'm going to leave. You will simply never see me again. End of story. Happy ending for everyone. After all, no one would want to be known for associating with a beater."

"But…"

"I'll be fine. In the beta I was a solo player."

That was it. I had sealed my fate. An eternity of isolation. At least, until I end this death game.

I checked what the LA drop was.  
**  
Aura of the Shadow Flame**.  
Item type: Aura.  
Effects: +10 Hiding, +30 fire damage (if the weapon is of another element, fire attack will be added to it).

That's interesting, I've never seen an item of this type before. I equipped it. Instantly, a black glow surrounded me. Despite knowing that it was an aura, I was still shocked at the effect.

I then turned and walked even deeper into the dying forest…

_**A/N: YAY! A long chap to make up for the short one last time  
A/N #2: Thanks for all the reviews (1) which I have been getting.  
A/N #3: Special thanks to all those who have supported my story-writing up until this point  
A/N: In order to celebrate the ninth chapter (including the prologue) of the story, I've decided to create a preview/prologue (sort of both) ENJOY!**_

**Chapter 9: Way of the Ninja**

_Ryuken's POV_

"Hey Ryuken-kun, would you like to gain a weapon which has the same ability of getting stronger as you get stronger?"

It seemed unrealistic that Kayaba would give me an even bigger advantage, but what could I lose even if I don't gain the item? Nothing can go wrong considering my level unless he decides to draw monsters from another floor…

I had no idea how wrong I was

_**Final A/N: Please do me a favour, click the review button and tell me what you think**_

Until next time,

**Kirito'sDarkRepulser**


	10. Chapter 9: Way of the Ninja

_**2X2 Swords **_by Kirito'sDarkRepulser

_**A/N: I must also make a disclaimer to Ninja Gaiden which I will be using a bit in this chapter.  
A/N #2: Thanks for all the support but I NEED more reviews. Thanks again for all the support anyway**_

**This **is anything which needs to be emphasised**  
This**is the name of an item or equipment  
_This _is either change of setting, the name of a skill or the name of a monster  
_This _is the naming of anything not mentioned above except players.

_Stats Update  
_Ryuken: Level 26: 5000HP 21 STR, 21 AGI, 6 DEF, 6 VIT

**Chapter 9: Way of the Ninja**

_ Where we left off last time_

_Forest of Darkness, Floor 9_

_Ryuken POV (I'm doing a lot of these aren't I? XD)_

"Hey Ryuken-kun, would you like to gain a weapon which has the same ability of getting stronger as you get stronger?"

It seemed unrealistic that Kayaba would give me an even bigger advantage, but what could I lose even if I don't gain the item? Nothing can go wrong considering my level unless he decides to draw monsters from another floor…

I had no idea how wrong I was…

I awoke in the _Forest of Darkness_, a place where everything is lethal and everything is trying to kill everything. I find myself cursing Kayaba yet again because it is always his stupid offers that lead me to doing insane things. Beside the point, the _Forest of Darkness _is also a labyrinth.

I've been in hiding here for quite a long time, gradually getting used to the layout of the forest. I visit the main town once every few nights to gather info from Argo, the only one who knows where I am all the time. She thinks I'm insane, but I guess I would too if it wasn't for the fact that if I didn't, I'd need to sleep in town which was even worse than sleeping in a labyrinth after considering my reputation.

According to Argo, there were mixed responses to my departure from the leading group into a soloist who could probably take out a party of front-liners if he tried hard enough. Most were happy that I'd left but a vast minority also mourned for me. Not that I was dead, but if you're never seeing them again, they are sort of dead to you.

I'd also received very interesting information yesterday night from Argo. She said that a party had been wondering around in the forest and happened to stumble across the boss room. When they opened it though, they found out that the room was empty and the scouting was a failure.

After lots of pestering and spending lots of 'hard-earned money' as Argo had said, she also obtained information that there had been a screen saying that the boss was elsewhere.

Anyways, that's a summary all the things I've done for a while as well as the reason why I am here now.

Right now, something seemed wrong. I'm sure I've been here many times before. I even marked that tree with my sword. But this wasn't how I remembered the labyrinth to be. Something has changed.

Out in the distance, I saw a tiny flickering light. But this is the _Forest of Darkness_, there should be no light. That meant that something was happening there and I needed to check it out. My instincts fought against that decision but I couldn't help it.

I sprinted towards the light, using a new skill I recently decided to invest a bit in at the same time, _Acrobatics_ which turned out to be pretty useful in battle as well. I swung from tree to tree, jumping across, through and over things, finally reaching the entrance of what looked like a village. The village is on fire.

I knew that this meant trouble. It always did. Kayaba probably wanted me to solo this. I drew my blades and silently sneaked inside the village gates.

Somewhere, I heard the sound of battle and quickly used my ears to reach the location. I marvelled at the sight. One ninja against a mounted spearman and a suit of armour which wielded a Two-Handed Long-Sword. It was easy to tell the ninja is losing. There is only one thing I can do.

I am SO going to regret this.

I jumped off the roof and headed straight for the spearman.

I am consumed by a white aura.

I slash both my blades outwards, forming an X.

I land on the other side of the spearman.

_Soaring Phoenix_.

_**A/N: For those of you who have played Ninja Gaiden, this is the technique Flying Swallow except with 2 swords.**_

Instead of shattering, the spearman implodes and leaves behind a red sphere of energy. The ninja and the suit of armour both begin summoning energy to their blades, going for the final showdown.

My gut instinct told me the ninja would lose, so there is only one solution. I just hoped it worked.

The charged, releasing all of the built up tension and energy within their weapons.

"_Switch_" I yelled at the ninja, hoping that the AI would understand the command.

Crimson aura clashed with sapphire aura.

An explosion.

Both blades are bodies are flung back by the force, but the suit of armour seemed to have suffered less damage.

That is alright though because that is more than enough of a decent switching opportunity.

I leapt in, unleashing _Starburst Stream_, followed by _Savage Fulcrum_ and _Howling Octave._

The suit of armour seemed to flinch for a split second, but instantly recovered and knocked me aside. My HP bar instantly dropped to red.

Luckily, the ninja had already recovered and currently held a blazing sphere of inferno between is palms.

He fired.

It hit.

The suit of armour shattered and disappeared.

"Thanks for your help…"

"Ryuken"

"Ryuken. I'm Ryu Hayabusa, I believe you do not have a reason to be here despite your presence here right now. Please wait for me to finish my work before I attend to you."

He then summoned a load of water from the lake nearby and dumped all of it onto the village, putting the fire out. He fainted after that.

_Time Skip: 2 Days Later_

I must admit, I'm definitely not the best caretaker in the world, but somehow I managed to make sure Ryu didn't die. All that I did was give him the occasional potion even though NPCs can't exactly die.

By the end of the 2nd night, Ryu finally woke up with a jolt.

"How many survivors?"  
"Roughly 10"

Ryu was silenced, as if he was thinking about whether that was good or bad. Personally, I thought that was very un-NPC like.

"How long have I been out?"  
"Close to fifty hours. I don't know what food to give you so I assumed that potions would do."  
"It's okay. But how can I repay you?"  
"What do you mean, I simply helped a person in need."  
"No, you don't understand. That… fiend. He is only one of the many leaders, there are many more, any one of them could have attacked, even if they were low in the ranks. Your presence deterred them. Even though you aren't extremely strong considering your weapon of choice, you seem to have a fighting style which no one in this world is used to and they are smart enough to know only to enter battle when they know what's in their opponent's arsenal."

I was slightly shocked by his explanations.

"So… that guy wasn't the strongest one?"  
"No, not far based on rankings, but way off based on ability."

A shiver instantly travelled up my spine. Way off. Exactly how strong were these people?

"Besides the point, we need to slay all the fiends in the area and rebuild the clan. Will you help?"

This NPC was definitely giving me a quest.

"Sure"

"Okay, to help, we will need to train you so that you are strong enough to fight off the fiends."

I am now sure of it. No quest ever trained you beforehand. So Ryu isn't a normal NPC, he seems to be able to think for himself. But he isn't a player either, nor a GM because if he was either of those, I should be able to see the cursor showing his status as well as his HP bar. I then remembered something important that I needed to ask.

"Um… you know about this world from my perspective right?"  
"You mean that this is the floating castle Aincrad? Yes"  
"No, well yes, but that to me, this is inside a game called Sword Art Online yes?"  
"Mmhmm"  
"But there isn't any magic in Sword Art Online"  
"Ah, that wasn't magic. That was ninpo."

Ninpo? What on earth is that?

"What's ninpo?"  
"Ninpo can also be used in what you call reality if you train yourself to that extent but it is believed that human life is too short in order to do that. It involves gathering up your own spiritual energy and using it to control the elements"  
"So like the characters in Naruto?"

He didn't understand. Then I realised, this NPC is too human to be an NPC. As if Kayaba Akihiko designed this NPC to be a player. So I asked.

"Um… Hayabusa-san, ignore my rudeness, but what type of program are you?"  
"An NPC who has developed self-awareness?"  
"An NPC who has developed self-awareness? Please explain."  
"I'm probably more of a player than an NPC. After all, I also have emotions as well as what you call a _Level _and _Sword Skills_."

That just confused me even more.

"So, please ignore my rudeness yet again, but what level are you?"  
"Um… 200"

I was stumped. Why on earth would Kayaba create an NPC who is level 200?

"So… what do you plan on teaching me?"  
"1. How to fight PROPERLY  
2. Ninpo  
3. If I approve of your strength after training, you will also receive an extra weapon."

He opened a menu which NO NPC should be able to do and requested a duel with me.

"I need to know how good you are before I start training you to not teach you things which are either too easy or too hard."

I looked at the duel conditions:

Time Limit: None  
Duel Mode: First Attack  
Participants: Ryuken (Player), Ryu Hayabusa (NPC)

Do you accept?

I pressed yes, and the countdown began.

_10 minutes later_

_Blade of Dragon Scales_

In an instant, my opponent was behind me and I had lost the duel. Of those 9 minutes, 8 of them were spent trying to defend against his relentless attacks. It didn't matter that it was 2 swords against one, his swordsmanship was far superior. Not only that, but he strategically put distance between us while using shuriken to keep me at bay by performing an impossible manoeuvre.

"I'm impressed."

What?

"Considering your gear, you actually fight quite well."

I looked at my gear:  
**Black Cloak of Midnight  
2 Anneal Blades  
Leather Shirt  
Leather Pants  
Black Leather Sandals  
Black Shirt  
Black Shorts**

Pretty much all of it is what I've been using since the first floor boss battle.

"But you need a better weapon than that…"

And so I received 2 new weapons of the same description:  
**Shinobi Katana +0  
**_Long Sword / One Hand  
Range: Short/Medium  
Type: Slash/Stab  
Attack: 50  
Durability: 200  
Weight: 50  
Required Level: 25  
Required Strength: 20_

Extra Stat Boosts:  
Strength +10  
Agility +10  
Attack Speed +5

_Source: Unknown_

"I am supposed to give you a quest called _Quest for the Dragon Sword_ after training you assuming I approve of your strength. If you complete the quest, though no one has, you will receive another quest called _Dragon' Sword's Awakening _there is a rumour that you will obtain the **True Dragon Sword** which is said to be unrivalled in strength if you compete the 2nd quest."

I smiled. Maybe going into exile wasn't such a bad thing after all. With that thought in mind, the training began.

_**A/N: I ended up not explaining the preview because that will be explained in the next chapter  
A/N #2: Sorry for those readers who think I'm making my protagonist too powerful.  
A/N #3: Do me a favour, tell me how I'm going by clicking the review button**_

Until next time,

**Kirito'sDarkRepulser**


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